Fallen Bloom
by SoftNoodle
Summary: AU. OOC. Two country bumpkins went to town, and opened up a flower shop. One fell down and broke her crown, and the other...went crazy. No pairing.


Summary: Two country bumpkins went to town, and opened up a flower shop. One fell down and broke her crown, and the other…went crazy.

SM: Not much thought behind this. Just something I churned out to prove that I'm still alive and writing. I want to update my stuff, boy do I want to. Now if only time and energy would comply.

Ah, and before I receive a million flames. This isn't meant to be anything but a bubble that my brain expelled. I know close to nothing about flowers, and this is proven by my sad lack of ability to grow _anything_. Mostly, they die as seedlings and I start over only to reaffirm my own brown thumb. There are no real pairings for this and yes, all the characters are horribly out-of-character. But I wrote and finished it in one night, something VERY rare for me. Plus, it's 1:38 in the morning after several solid days of work and overtime. I'm exhausted and my mind is shot. Go me.

**Fallen Bloom**

It wasn't that he no longer cared for her. The fact was the idea of him leaving bit into him like dull knife slowly sawing away at his core. But, he knew that he would be happier elsewhere. So, when she turned up those bright blue eyes at him and asked him her question, he answered truthfully.

"I would be happier with her."

She nodded and smiled kindly, like she always did, and allowed him to walk out of her life.

Sadly enough he had not predicted how very shortly that happiness would end. Sara was unable to hold his interest for very long. Material and physical pleasures were satisfying only for brief periods of time, and he quickly grew bored.

Sara had been born as heiress to a vast financial empire. She was sultry and alluring and could please a man any which way. But at the same time, she was not very clever, to put it gently. Behind those pretty eyes of hers, and that lovely body, she barely held an ounce of intelligence. It was tiresome how she could spend her entire day milling about her possessions or seeking his 'companionship.'

It was…irritating in way. But he supposed it was what he deserved. He had sought out to fulfill own selfish desires without a thought of the consequences. He guessed that if had truly thought out his decision, he wouldn't be where he was now.

One of the few perks he did enjoy was the view from his window. All he had to do was peer down at the bustling streets of the city. Almost directly below him, he could see the flower shop. A quaint place. Everyday they sold only the most freshly picked flowers, petals crisp and delicate, the dew still sparkling on the leaves. The flower shop owner was a pale colored dot to his eyes, but in his mind, he could see her smile clearly.

He missed the shop. After all, he used to live in it with the owner.

He knew the shop so well, it had always been there, ever since he had moved to the city. So, it was quite a shock to him to walk to his viewing window one day and find that he shop was completely empty. He had immediately descended to the ground floor and questioned one of the elderly women he had found at the next door café. He recognized her as being a regular customer of the flower shop.

"Oh? The flower shop? The poor dear. She decided to take a vacation from the city life. I understand how dreary it must be for a country girl like her. But I understand that she'll be back in a few days." The old woman had answered.

He had nodded and thanked the old woman, yet the elder's answer had bothered him. He _knew_ the owner. She would hardly leave her shop for something as trivial as a vacation. She had adored her shop. He had the sinking feeling that it had something to do with him. Yet, if she was to return in a few days, then he would wait for her, and ask her then. He was overdue for a visit anyhow. He hadn't spoken to her since the day he had left.

He hadn't expected to wait seven years.

-:- -:- -:-

Sesshoumaru had spent his days climbing the corporate ladder.

It had happened quite by accident. Sara's father had followed her home once, raving to her about her position as heiress and her responsibilities. When he brought up the point of inter-corporation mergers, Sesshoumaru had intervened. Sesshoumaru actually had quite a few suggestions for their business, as Sara was as dumb as a post and it was the only intellectual thing she possessed upon which he could brood.

After putting in so much thought about their company, it was no wonder that he had a few ideas to help improve their situation.

Perhaps it was the fact that Sesshoumaru's voice had been the first intellectual one Sara's father had heard while in her abode, but he readily welcomed Sesshoumaru into the corporate fold with open arms. From there, Sesshoumaru had slowly but steadily ascended the rungs of the business, until he stood atop the leading position of the Japanese branch.

He much preferred the extra work required for his position to Sara's companionship. She had been entertaining at first, spoiling both his material and physical wants, but then she had become mundane, then annoying. He couldn't stand her advances and began wishing for a more scholarly conversation partner. All Sara liked to talk about were her appearance and possessions. God, a few hours of that had him wanting to shove her out of the sixth story window of her apartment.

Thankfully, Sara's father wasn't nearly as ignorant as she. He recognized Sesshoumaru's talent and appreciated the hard effort which the young man put into work. So, Sesshoumaru was able to break it off with Sara without much problem. After that he quickly moved out of her apartment.

He purchased the housing complex which sat across the street from the old flower shop. It was perhaps out of some sense of sentimentality, or perhaps even guilt, that he chose to live there. Every morning, he would peer outside his window, half-expecting to see the young flower girl, her arms brimming with freshly picked flowers, smiling and greeting the townspeople as they walked by.

She had been, perhaps the one bright spot in the usually cloudy and murky city life.

He missed her.

-:- -:- -:-

It happened on the first day of winter. The sun had barely peeked over the high skyscraper horizon when the doors of the flower shop opened. Once more the shelves were lined up with the sweet-smelling stock unique to the flower shop. Each blossom was fresh and crisp, with the morning dew still decorating their leaves.

The flower girl stood outside her shop in a lavender colored apron and frock, her arms filled with flowers, and singing her morning greeting.

Sesshoumaru was stunned. In a way, after so much time had passed, he had inwardly expected that the shop would never open again, though he desperately wished it to. Checking his watch, he realized he had several hours before work, as he had always been an early riser.

He just stared outside of his window for a few minutes. He wanted to meet her again, but how to approach her. He had been the one to leave her after all, but she, in turn, had left him without a word of warning. How would he greet her after all this time?

After several more minutes of hesitation, he decided on the direct approach. He had never been one to beat about the bush. With this in mind, he quickly descended to the ground floor and made his way across the street.

-:- -:- -:-

Her rich voice rang out sweetly down the street. It was full of bright promise and butterfly kisses wrapped up in a gentle soprano.

"Hello." He said clearly in his own smooth tenor.

She paused, turning toward him and greeting him with her warm smile. Dark glasses, which he had not noticed from his window, adorned her eyes.

"Hello." She replied in turn. "May I help you?"

Hearing her voice directed toward him after so much time made his heart swell. He waited a moment more before replying.

"I'd like to purchase some flowers." He answered.

Her smile widened. "Oh? What kind would you like?"

His breath caught before realizing the problem. Did she not recognize him? It had been only seven years. He hadn't changed that much. His hair had grown long, as he had refrained from cutting it, and his clothes were different, but not much else. He was still the same person he she had grown up with in the country.

They had moved to the city together. She couldn't have forgotten him. And her! She still looked exactly the same as before. She hadn't changed at all. She still possessed the same face he remembered, the kind expression and warm smile.

Well, he supposed he'd better jog her memory.

"I'd like to purchase all of them." He said smoothly.

A startled expression crossed her face. "All of them?" Then her smile returned. "Are you trying to woo a special someone?" She asked with a giggle.

"Maybe." He replied with a smirk. "Perhaps I should just purchase you, Kagome."

She blanched. "W-what?" Her voice trembled.

Was that a note of fear he heard in her tone? Slightly concerned, his brows knit. He cupped her chin in his hand, tilting her face toward his. "Kagome? Don't you remember me?" He questioned. He stared into her face, wishing for her to remove her dark glasses. He wanted to see her eyes. He wanted to see himself reflected in her blue colored orbs, knowing that it was he who she saw.

She licked her lips, shaking her head slightly, freeing herself from his gentle grasp. "I'm afraid I don't. I think perhaps you've confused me with another." Her smile came back. She removed her sunglasses to reveal chocolate brown irises. "My name is Kikyou."

"What?" His eyes widened. She smiled so gently. Only one woman on earth could smile like that.

"My name is Kikyou. I'm afraid you have mistaken me with another person." She said carefully.

He shook his head. "No." He turned his head. "You ran this flower shop seven years ago. Right here in this store. It's been abandoned this whole time since you've been gone. You used to live here!"

Her expression became concerned. "I'm sorry, but you really are mistaken. I've just come to this city this week. This is the first time I've ever opened the shop. And the store is far to small to live in."

"There's a back area, large enough to house two people comfortably." He explained, digging through his memories of the store. "The second rear door on the far wall."

Her eyebrows raised. "There's no door. I can show it to you myself."

She gathered her flowers to her chest and motioned him within the store. She gently laid down her fragile bundle on a counter and took him to the back.

There was the sink in the same place as before. The long counter with rolls of plastic to wrap bouquets, and one door.

The second door which led to the back room was missing. Confused, he walked up to the wall, running his hands against it. However, where the door should have been, a cabinet was screwed to the wall. It was shelved with various tools for the maintenance of the flowers as well as shears for small shrubs, and scissors and tape. The wall had been painted recently, he could tell. He inspected the cabinet, lightly knocking against the wood, but it showed only a solid wall.

"How?" He stared, puzzled.

"It's been like that since I came. It had already been painted, and the cabinet installed." Kikyou explained.

"But, that's not right. I live across the street. I would have seen a construction crew if there was anything going on here." Sesshoumaru couldn't understand it. Sure, sometimes he was away for a few days, but if the shop was going to be renovated, he was certain he would have noticed. It had been Kagome's shop!

Kikyou shrugged. "I'm sorry." She said apologetically. "I can't help you."

Forced to admit defeat, he turned to her. "My name is Sesshoumaru." He said softly. "Please do not forget it."

She nodded. "Kikyou." She responded, holding out her hand. "I won't forget. It was nice meeting you."

He shook her hand silently and left the shop.

She called herself 'Kikyou' now, but that couldn't be. It _was_ Kagome, he was positive of it. He _knew_ his Kagome, the sweet dark-haired girl he had grown up with. It was her, but why would she do this? He had no idea, but he would get to the bottom of it.

-:- -:- -:-

Sesshoumaru left for work, his head full of questions. When he returned home, it was already late, but he saw one of Kagome's regular customers seated at the café. He hurriedly made his way over.

"Pardon me." He sad cordially. "But I was wondering if you had visited the flower shop today? The one that just opened?" He asked.

"Oh, yes." The old woman beamed. "Run by such a sweet young child too."

He nodded. "She went by the name of Kagome, did she not?" He pressed.

The woman's face darkened suddenly. "I'm afraid not, deary. I suppose you haven't heard?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Heard what?" He asked, panic rising in his tone.

She squinted at him. "You knew, Kagome. Didn't you? Weren't you the young man you used to help her around the shop a bit?"

He nodded.

"Oh, poor dear. And after so long too." She gave a heavy sigh, shaking her head sadly.

"What?" He asked, still polite, but growing impatient.

"Kagome, the dear, she went off on vacation some…seven? Yes, about that. Seven years ago. She visited her family shrine up in the mountains." The woman began.

He nodded vigorously, urging her to continue.

"Well, the poor girl got caught in a landslide up there." She frowned, her expression apologetic. "The dear never made it out. I'm so sorry for your loss." She said sincerely.

Sesshoumaru was stunned. There was no way that he had heard her correctly. Kagome was dead? No, it wasn't possible. Kagome was alive and running a shop under a false name. He shook his head slightly and swallowed. "But of the young woman running the flower shop currently. Don't they share the same appearance?"

The woman's face turned thoughtful. "Aye. There is perhaps a passing resemblance. But your friend, my child, I'm afraid she is lost."

Something withered within him, turning ice cold. He steeled his expression. "Thank you for the news. I'm glad to have heard it at long last." He said quietly. He gave a small respectful bow to the elder and left to his apartment to brood.

Something was terribly wrong here. The people were convinced that the girl wasn't Kagome. But he knew that she was. Landslides at the Higurashi shrine? Impossible. The land there was stable. He knew because he grew up there, with Kagome. There wouldn't be any random landslides unless there was an earthquake, and a notable one at that. No, there was something deeper going around. People were lying to him.

But why?

-:- -:- -:-

The next day, he visited the shop again. He entered the shop, the bell above the door tinkling and alerting the owner of his presence.

She greeted him smiling, dark glasses once more perched atop her nose. "Oh! Sesshoumaru, what a pleasant surprise. How may I help you?" She greeted pleasantly.

"I'd like to purchase some lilies. They're for a friend of mine." He answered. He was requesting an out-of-season blossom. Those were specially cultivated in the rear of the store, and knowing Kagome, she was sure to grow some.

Kikyou smiled. "An out-of-season flower? We grow those in the back. Would you like to pick the blossom, or shall I?"

"I'd like to see them myself, if you don't mind." He replied.

She nodded. "Of course." She took him back to the first door. She opened it revealing rows of flowers growing beneath special UV-lamps. She lead him to a far row. Dozens of lilies of various colors grew in nice healthy bulbs.

Slender fingers reached out to stroke the bulb. "These are due to open in a few days." She took him further down the row where a few more were already opening. "Is there a specific color you're looking for?" She asked, motioning to the blooming flowers.

"Not particularly." He answered. "May I have few moments looking them over?"

"Of course. I'll be in the other room getting the wrapping." With a smile, Kikyou left him to his own devices.

He immediately went to the wall. It was the wall that would have been shared with the second back room. Behind the shop, there had been a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, everything. It was a miniature house he had shared with Kagome. The flowering room was the same size, so it had not expanding over the living room. So why seal he second door? It still looked as if the other room existed. He pressed his ear against it and knocked.

Hollow.

It was there! He knew it!

He hurried back to the lilies, eyeing them with the skill Kagome had taught him. He quickly selected three delicate white blooms. Kikyou returned with shears and wrapped them for him. He paid and left with his purchase, satisfied with figuring at least part of the mystery out.

The room existed. He wasn't going crazy. The next part would be trying to find a way in.

-:- -:- -:-

It was over the next week when he chanced to see it. As had become routine, he visited the flower shop almost everyday. 'Kikyou' had become quite familiar with him, and yet still adamantly retained a polite and almost professional attitude with him.

He recognized many other frequenters of Kagome's shop, and each one referred to the woman as Kikyou. He was beginning to be quite disturbed with it. Couldn't they see? Why didn't they remember her? It was the same face, voice, and personality. The woman was Kagome.

Yet he still couldn't figure out why Kagome would play such a charade.

He walked to the back of the store with Kikyou, his arms laden with blossoms. He was helping her move some of the stock to the cutting counter where she could trim a few leaves and stems. She tripped suddenly, apparently over her own feet. Her arms reached out to stop herself, hands falling against the cabinet. It wasn't much but he saw the cabinet, which should have been screwed to the wall, move. It swung out slightly, much like a door would have.

She caught herself and stood with a smile. "Whoops, so clumsy of me." She grinned.

He smiled back. He had caught her now.

Laying the flowers on the table, he waited for her to pull out small trimming shears. With her back to him, he pushed experimentally against the cabinet. Nothing. It didn't even budge. He pushed a bit harder. Still nothing.

He pulled his hand back. He was _sure_ he saw it. The cabinet moved. It did!

Kikyou turned suddenly.

"Where are my manners. Thank you for your help, Sesshoumaru." She said, beaming. "You're a very kind man."

He managed a shaky smile in return. "You're welcome."

He knew he saw it move. What…why didn't it move when he pushed. He exerted much more force against it than she possibly could have. But why didn't it move against his hand?

He left the store, no less puzzled than before.

-:- -:- -:-

Sesshoumaru began to wonder, was he being too paranoid?

Was he taking things a bit too far?

Everyone called her Kikyou. Everyone.

He was beginning to doubt his own memories. His image of Kagome was beginning to blur, dull. It wasn't as sharp as he remembered. Perhaps he was mistaken, it had been seven years after all. He seemed to be mistaken in everything about Kikyou.

His eyes were playing tricks on him. Illusions of the lights? It was confusing. But he had been so certain of things, only to be proved wrong time and time again. It was disheartening and disturbing to him. He had never made such mistakes before.

-:- -:- -:-

Sesshoumaru stared at his own cup of tea. He was seated at the café with Kikyou. He had invited her for a drink one night, a spur of the moment decision. She sat across from him at the table, happily sipping her own drink, a cup of cinnamon tea. It was the same as Kagome's favorite tea. Or was he wrong in that?

He stirred his own drink absently when he noticed Kikyou peering at the street.

"Looking for something?" He asked.

She turned to him with a smile. "Yes, my ride."

Oh yeah, Kikyou didn't live at the shop.

"Where do you live?" He wondered.

"Two blocks down, in an apartment with my husband." Kikyou replied.

His mind ground to a halt. Husband? His eyes shot to her left hand. There sparkled a wedding band that he was certain hadn't been there before. He slumped inwardly, then again, perhaps he simply hadn't noticed. He sure seemed to be doing that a lot these days.

"Been married long?" He asked.

She beamed, eyes sparkling. "Seven years." She answered. "He's a wonderful man."

"Oh." Sesshoumaru couldn't think of anything else to say. "Seven years, huh?" That sounded a bit coincidental to him, but then again, he was obviously just being paranoid. He really needed to get over Kagome. He wasn't doing anything but driving himself crazy. "Must be nice."

"Oh yes, very nice." She replied dreamily. Her expression showed that she was off in her own little world.

Better than him. He was sulking over a cup of cooling tea.

He heard a beep from the street.

"That's him!" Kikyou stood suddenly. She bent down, giving Sesshoumaru a half-hug. "Thank you for the tea, Sesshoumaru. It was really sweet of you."

He nodded, half-heartedly returning the gesture. There was something about total defeat in this matter which greatly disturbed him. He also was growing accustomed to her dark glasses, even though it was already late in the evening. "You're welcome. Have a safe trip home." He waved her off.

She grinned and all but skipped to the car. No doubt she was all but too happy to jump into the arms of her loving non-paranoid husband.

He was crazy. Kagome was dead, and there he had been obsessed that this woman had been her. Everyone else had seen it. The more he looked at the woman, the less she looked like Kagome. He sighed, slapping down a few bills for the tea. The city life wasn't for him after all.

With everything he had accomplished, and everything he had done, he wasn't happy. In fact, he was driving himself insane over the matter. What a load of bull he had told Kagome, that he would be happier this way. What a lie. He was miserable, and half-afraid that he would start talking to himself or to non-existent people.

He needed to return home, back to the mountains and the shrine. This wasn't for him at all.

He turned in his two weeks notice the next day. The company was sad to see him go, but he saw no other choice. It might have been the stress getting to him or what, he didn't know. All he knew was that he really did want to return to the Higurashi shrine, back to the home of this childhood.

-:- -:- -:-

Back in the car, Kikyou slowly removed her sunglasses. She folded them up and slipped them neatly in its rightful case. She rubbed her eyes gently, dislodging the colored contacts that her husband insisted that she wear. She replaced those in her contact case.

"How was work?" Her husband asked.

"Quiet as usual. Sesshoumaru stopped by again. He invited me to tea." She replied.

"So I saw. How was it? Did you enjoy it?" He asked, smiling.

"Yes. I enjoy his company very much. It's like talking with an old friend." She smiled in return.

Naraku smirked. "It would most likely seem so, Kagome."

She flinched slightly, raising a hand to her temple. "N-naraku?"

"Yes?" He intoned mischievously.

"Why is it that no one else can call me by my name? It's the only thing I remember." She questioned. Her eyes, a brilliant blue shade, turned to him slightly puzzled. Her head began to throb if she dwelled to much on it. Absently, she raised a hand to her skull, tracing the ridge of scar tissue she had hidden in her hair.

"It's because no one else is worthy to. You're mine. I saved your life, therefore you owe it to me. And I'll do with it whatever I want, my dear." He answered smoothly. He detached one hand from the steering wheel to lightly grip her raised hand. He brought it down from her head. "I haven't been unpleasant toward you have I?"

"No, no, far from it!" She exclaimed.

"Do you dislike being my wife?" He questioned.

"Not at all."

"Then don't worry about it." He rubbed her hand, reassuring her.

"Of course." She bowed her head. "I shouldn't have doubted." She turned her hand up so that her palm met his and smiled. She turned her gaze out the car window, watching the scenery fly by. It wasn't so much that she didn't love her husband, but sometimes she felt that she was missing a person she did care greatly about. But those feelings came rarely, and like her husband suggested, she wouldn't dwell on it.

-:- -:- -:-

Late into the night, Naraku entered the flower shop. He went straight to the back, idly plucking a blossom as he did so. He stood in front of the cabinet, pressing against a slightly raised tile right before it with his foor. At the same time he pulled on the cabinet and it swung outward easily.

"Kagome, Kagome, Kagome." He murmured to himself, spinning the flower in his hands. He entered the back room which was strewn with dried dead flowers and covered with a fine layer of dust. He glared over the remnants of the past life she had once shared with a white-haired buffoon.

Naraku had adored her from afar in her mountainous home, but she had seen no other but Sesshoumaru.

"You are no one else's, but mine." He crushed the flower in his hand.

-:- -:- -:-

-:- -:- -:-

-:- -:- -:-

_End_

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-:- -:- -:-

-:- -:- -:-

SM: So yeah. Pretty random. Something that hit me earlier while I lay on my bed suffering in the heat and humidity. And instead of allowing it to stew in my brain and become more developed and thought out, I set to my computer and banged it out in the dead of night. So here you have a non-sensicle piece of...writing. I hope to get back to some more regular things. I haven't updated anything in forever, but it's not for lack of trying. Right now I'm tired and hungry. I need my slumber.


End file.
